Wait Till You Know Me
by xlilystarkx
Summary: Loki's only been at Marvel High for four months, yet there are already rumours about his sexuality floating around, catching the attention of one Tony Stark. FrostIron High School AU, with a somewhat slow build. Mature content later on.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, you!" Tony called out, as he followed the mysterious, raven-haired boy out the school gate.

The boy spun around, a perfect black eyebrow arched. "Yes, Stark?" He replied. He had a pile of homework to do, and he'd rather finish it before his brother or father disrupted his focus.

Tony caught up to him, brown curls blowing in the light breeze, his chocolate eyes bright. "You doing anything tonight, Lo'?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Don't call me that, please. And no, I'm not doing anything, though I don't know why my extra-curricular activities concern you."

"Could you sound any more British?" Tony snorted.

It was true, though. Loki and his brother, Thor, the latter who was in his final year of school, had transferred from London at the beginning of the year to New York, though why, Tony had no idea.

Loki glared at him. "Are we finished here? I have bigger priorities right now."

"You're useless at picking up a hint." Tony sighed. Loki just looked confused. "You know, when someone's trying to ask you out, that kind of thing."

"What, you're asking me out?" Loki asked incredulously.

"Well, no. But I'm asking you to do something with me. As friends. You know what those are right?" Tony joked.

Loki ignored his remark. "What do you have in mind?"

"Party at mine, eight-thirty?" Tony asked, knowing Loki would say yes.

"Who else is going?"

"Ah, you know. The usual crowd. Steve, Clint, Nat, Peggy, Bruce and Bucky. Along with a bunch of others, maybe your brother as well."

Loki's eyes narrowed at the mention of Thor. "I'll consider it. See you then, Stark." He replied, turning around and walking away.

"It's Tony, by the way." Tony shouted after him.

Loki could hear the laughter coming from the living room as soon as he walked into his house. Sighing, and hoping that the people wouldn't notice he was home, he walked upstairs to his room, tip toeing up the stairs as to not be heard.

The same sight, the only exception being Tuesdays, when Thor had football practices, greeted Loki almost everyday. Thor and his friends, Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, Sif and the only tolerable one, Jane came over to "study" and annoy the hell out of him, whether it was intentional or not. The best he could hope for was to be left alone, and attempt to ignore the bellowing laughter from directly below him.

Their parents were away, but that by no means encouraged Thor and his merry band of friends. They were like this no matter who was there; arrogant and irritating.

To his surprise, Loki was left alone for the majority of the evening, allowing him to get ready for the party in peace. He wasn't invited to many parties, so he was thoroughly surprised when Tony of all people invited him. They were friends, though, both bonding over a similarity in intelligence and wit, but Tony was too popular for them to spend much time together, only the odd Chess game here and there.

Finally ready, in jeans and a tight sort-of singlet, Loki made his way downstairs, hoping that his exit would be unnoticed.

It wasn't.

"Loki!" Thor's booming voice called out, as Loki attempted to open the front door silently.

Turning around with a sigh, and stalking into the living room, Loki raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Thor?"

Six pairs of eyes stared back at him. "Are you going somewhere?" Thor asked, still smiling from a joke Fandral had told.

"Yes, that is generally what people intend to do when they leave a house, brother." Loki rolled his eyes.

Thor frowned. "Where are you going, then?"

"A friend's."

Sif scoffed. "As if you have friends. Where are you really going, the library?" The others laughed.

Loki's just smirked. "I would've thought you'd been invited. Obviously not."

"Invited to what?" Sif asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Tony Stark's party, of course. Where else?"

"You've been invited to Tony's?" She asked incredulously.

"Yup." He nodded, a smug smile on his face.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. You can go run off to your imaginary party now, silvertongue."

Loki scowled at the nickname and flounced out of the room and out of the, ignoring Thor's questions about details.


	2. Chapter 2

It was common knowledge that Thor was the favourite child.

Although Loki got good grades, had a reasonable amount of friends and had a fairly decent build, he could never compare to the favourite Odinson.

Being the football star, Mr. Popular, and the fittest guy in the school, did not make it any easier for Loki to step out of his shadow.

As a result, Thor had a car and not Loki.

A reward for winning the National's last year in London, Loki's parents had eagerly gifted the car to Thor, their father completely ignoring Loki's acceptance into the elite Globe Theatre production of Much Ado About Nothing.

But Loki was used to this blatant favouritism by now, and seeing as Thor let him borrow the car on occasion, he wasn't planning on objecting too much.

Hence the reason Loki was currently sitting in the driver's seat of the black mini.

Let in be known that Loki never got over the sight of seeing Thor squeezed into the small car.

He was pulling out of the driveway and on his way to Tony's New York mansion, the one of many houses around the world, apparently. He still wasn't sure why he was invited, like Sif had said so kindly put it, he didn't have many friends, at least not in comparison to Tony and Thor. There was Natasha, the Russian black belt, and his best friend. Bucky Barnes, the athletic and funny guy, who gave Steve Rogers, ultimate athlete, a run for his money, Charles Xavier, the quite, intelligent and strikingly handsome Brit, and Natasha's maybe/maybe not boyfriend, Clint, whose talents apparently lay with a bow and arrow (Loki wasn't quite sure whether that was an innuendo or not.)

It was fair to say that they were the most diverse group in school.

But what would Tony Stark want with him?

Genius, billionaire, playboy and undoubtedly attractive (not that Loki thought about him like that), he was not the person Loki expected to take a liking to him.

He'd heard all about Tony's parties, he was like the Jay Gatsby of the school, and though he'd never been invited to one until now, he wasn't unaware of what he was in for.

Seemingly infinite alcohol as well as gorgeous women (and men, Tony didn't discriminate), Loki knew he was lying when he said it would just be the "usual" crowd.

But all he really wanted to do was figure out why the hell he was there in the first place.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony waited until Loki's retreating figure was out of sight before punching the air. He'd made a deal with Natasha earlier that afternoon, if he could get Loki to go his party, she'd join him. It wasn't that he had a crush on Natasha or anything, he was simply doing a favour for Clint, god knows the two needed a push in the right direction.

And inviting Loki wasn't a bad thing, Tony liked the guy, and it would nice to get to know him a bit better, as well as introducing him to some people outside of his social circle. Whether Loki knew it or not, he was one of the most sought-after boys in school, and after asking one of his female friends why this was so, he found out that women liked the dark, brooding type, something Loki clearly qualified as.

Now he was on his way to the car park, where his best friends, Pepper and Rhodey were waiting for him in his Audi.

He chucked his bag in the boot and slid into the front seat, grinning at the pair behind him. "You guys ready to get this thing started?"

Pepper rolled her eyes at him, an ongoing habit, but the corners of her mouth turned up. "I don't see why you're always so excited about this, you throw a party at least once a month, Tony."

"Oh come on, Pep. I may as well make the most of being an orphan, right?"

Pepper shot Rhodey a knowing look. Tony's parents had died earlier on in the year, leaving him with more empty mansions than he could count, and the inevitable role as CEO of Stark Industries, once he turned 21. He hadn't coped with the loss very well, his 17 year old body consuming more alcohol in the past eight months than most people do in their entire lives, and refusing to talk to anyone about it. He'd only cleaned up his act a couple of months ago, with much persuasion and help from Pepper herself, but these cold jokes never really went away.

"Whatever, Tony. At least make sure you know everyone this time, okay?" Rhodey said, meeting Tony's eyes in the rearview mirror.

"No promises, Rhodey." Tony grinned cheekily. "I invited Loki, by the way, so now Tasha will have to come." He replied gleefully.

"Maybe you should stop playing match-maker for other people and find someone for yourself instead?" Pepper suggested.

Tony laughed. "Me? In a proper relationship? That would be a miracle, Pep, and you know it."

Pepper sighed. "Yeah, it would be."

Rhodey stepped in before there was an awkward pause. "So you invited Loki, huh? Thor's little brother."

"Yeah," Tony nodded. "I'm thinking of someone I could set him up with… Emma Frost, maybe? Or what about Maria?" He joked.

"No, Tony. You hardly even know they guy, stop trying to control his love life."

"I'm just kidding, Pep. I wouldn't do that."

"Yes you would." Pepper and Rhodey said simultaneously.

"Okay, maybe I would, but not with Loki. Can you imagine what Thor would do to me? Plus I'm pretty sure he's above all the girls at our school, anyway."

"Reminds me of someone else I know." Pepper muttered.

"Hey, I'll have you know that there isn't a single girl in our school that I don't know." Tony responded defensively.

"What, is code for saying that you've slept with all of them?" Rhodey accused.

"Well, I haven't slept with Pepper, have I?" Tony smirked, winking at her in the mirror. "But maybe that'll change tonight…"

Pepper wrinkled her nose. "Ew, no. I would never sleep with you, Tony. You're like a brother to me."

"Mood-ruiner, much?" Tony joked. "But anyway, back to Loki. Do you guys know why they moved over here so suddenly? I know the family moved over from London, but that's about it."

"You're awfully curious about him, aren't you?" Pepper said. "Maybe you should match-make yourself with him and find out."

"I'm not gay, Pepper." Tony tutted.

"Oh yeah? What about that time with Fandral?"

"I was drunk."

"Erik Lehnsherr?"

"That was an accident. Plus he's with that Charles guy now."

"Bruce Banner?"

"We were playing spin the bottle."

"Johnny Storm? You can't seriously tell me that was accidental, or that you were drunk. You were going on about how good he was in bed for _months_, Tony."

"Okay, fine." Tony grumbled. "I've slept with a few guys. So what? Doesn't mean I want to fuck every guy I see, let alone one like Loki."

"What's that supposed to mean? One like Loki?" Pepper asked, a stern look on her face.

"You know, mysterious and brooding..."

"Tony. You're stereotyping again." Rhodey warned him.

"No, I'm – Ah! What's with the interrogation? Since when could I not invite someone to my own party without a bombardment of questions? You two aren't usually like this." Tony complained, turning into his driveway.

"Yeah, and you don't usually chase after a guy you barely know and demand for him to come to your party, which, might I add, is in several hours and we need to sort the house out." Pepper reminded him, glancing down at the watch Tony bought her for Christmas.

"Keywords in that sentence: barely know. So stop going on about it!" Tony retorted, getting more and more annoyed by the second.

"Just admit you find him attractive and we'll leave you alone." Rhodey promised, smirking at his friend's discomfort.

"Fine, then. He's good-looking, for a guy. And he has a cool accent. Now can we please stop this?" Tony huffed, stopping the car and throwing his door open, storming out of the car and towards the door.

Pepper turned to Rhodey. "He definitely likes Loki."

"How are you so sure? He finds a lot of people attractive, Pep." Rhodey reminded her.

"Yeah, but did you see how long it took him to admit it?" She told him, an eyebrow raised.

"Maybe it's true, but he's not going to do anything about it any time soon." Rhodey argued back.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Pepper shrugged, stepping out of the car and following Tony into the house.


	4. Chapter 4

The party was already in full swing by the time Loki arrived, music was blaring from every speaker in the house, thanks to an outdoor DJ, and there was unlimited alcohol, despite the drinking age being 21 and the party consisting of 16 to 19 year olds. Loki assumed this was because being a Stark entitled you certain privileges, easy-to-access alcohol being one of them.

He'd only been inside for several seconds when he was greeted by Natasha, a lock of her read hair flicking him in the face as she pulled him through the crowd and towards the bar.

She promptly pulled out a bar stool and sat down on it, motioning for Loki to do the same.

"Nice to see you too, Natasha." Loki said in a sarcastic tone, sitting down and facing her. "Is there a reason for me being dragged across the dance floor, or were you just bored?"

She looked around, as if she was about to commit a crime, before responding. "I'm hiding from Tony."

"Er, why?" Loki questioned.

"Him and I had a deal that if you came here, then I'd come too. The thing is, it turns out that he's actually doing a favour for Clint, and he's trying to set us up." She explained, still keeping an eye out the two boys.

"But I thought you liked Clint?" Loki asked, clearly confused.

"I do, but I can't make it easy for him, can I?" She smirked.

Loki tutted. "Tasha, the guy's had a crush on you for _years. _Indulge him for once."

She scowled at him, before turning to the bartender. "Can I get a vodka and soda, please?"

He nodded in response and turned to Loki. "And you, sir?"

Loki looked to Natasha for help. "He'll have the same." She said, turning back to Loki. "So why did you decide to come?"

"To prove a point to Thor and Sif. Plus, I didn't have anything else to do." He explained.

"Well, it's nice to see you socializing, for once." She teased.

"Why is it, that everyone always makes me out to be some sort of reclusive freak? I have more than enough friends, I just choose not to flaunt my connections at a teenage party." He said, irritated.

"I'm kidding, Loki. Calm down." She said, as their drinks were set down in front of them. She smiled at the bartender before pushing Loki's drink closer to him. "Now drink. You never get drunk enough."

With an exasperated sigh, Loki took a sip. Although alcohol wasn't foreign to him, he usually drank a minimally as possible, and the last time he drank was on his birthday, in July. But maybe, just this once, he would indulge himself.

Two hours later, Loki had lost Natasha in the crowd, and was reasonably drunk. He was still in control of his thoughts and actions, but he felt slightly more carefree and happy, with a pleasant buzz in his head.

That was until some random (and drunk) blonde girl stumbled into him, along with her glass (not cup, _glass) _of scotchand both of them ended up on the ground, Loki's shirt soaked in alcohol, and several shards of glass penetrating his skin.

Without helping him up, or giving him an apology, said girl giggled and walked off, leaving Loki soaked and bloody on the floor, praying for Natasha to come around the corner and lend him a hand in healing himself.

What he didn't expect was the host of the party to be looking down on him, with worried eyes and an outstretched hand. "You okay?"

Despite the pain he was in, Loki managed a scoff. "I'm absolutely _fine, _Stark, having a glass smashed into your chest doesn't cause any discomfort whatsoever." He said, grabbing Tony's hand and allowing him to pull him up.

"Can you walk alright?" Tony asked, wrapping his arm around Loki's waist for extra support.

Loki tried moving, but winced. "Uh, sort of. Do you have a first aid kit?"

"Yeah, but I'll just take you somewhere more comfortable and private first. I have a feeling you don't want attention." Tony said, as him and Loki began a slow walk towards the house.

Using the lift, they made their way up to Tony's bedroom, the only room that wasn't yet occupied by a couple. Tony laid Loki down on the bed, before disappearing into his bathroom to grab the first-aid kit.

Upon returning, Tony had to bite back a grin and what he now had to ask. Loki was in no state to be retracing glass from his chest, which left the task to Tony. "I'm going to have to ask you to take your shirt off now." He tried to say as nonchalantly as possible.

Loki scowled, but pulled his shirt over his head anyway, revealing lean and sinewy muscle, along with several wounds, none that seemed to be too deep.

Tony forced himself not to stare for _too _long. He would be lying if he said he didn't find Loki attractive, and there was the man himself, lying shirtless on his bed. Who wouldn't do the same in this situation?

Loki's voice cut through his thoughts. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Tony snapped his head back up to face Loki, hoping that Loki hadn't caught him looking at his body for such a long time. "It's me or the hospital. And seeing as nobody here is in a condition to drive, you're stuck with me."

Loki groaned. "Just get on with it. The sooner you finish, the sooner I can get back to Tasha."

Tony nodded once, before kneeling next to Loki on the bed and pulling out the tweezers. "So… You and Natasha? You guys together?" Tony already knew the answer, but he thought it was best if he kept Loki distracted while he pulled fragments of glass out of his chest.

Loki snorted, causing him to wince in pain. "Definitely not. She likes Clint. And I certainly don't think of her in that way."

"Wait, what? So she does like Clint!" Tony grinned, glancing up from where he was working.

"I thought it was obvious. She's playing hard to get. Though, I personally think she playing a bit _too_ hard." Loki replied, closing his eyes and tilting his head back, leaving Tony with the perfect view of his neck.

He had a very nice neck.

Tony once again cursed at himself for thinking that. He blamed the alcohol.

Which of course was a blatant lie as Tony had gotten used to the effects of alcohol, and the amount that he had drank so far tonight had no affect on him whatsoever.

But he blamed the alcohol anyway.

By now he was almost done, except for one shard which he couldn't quite see, due to the lighting. There was one position, though, where he would be able to see it.

"Er, Loki?" Tony asked, somewhat timidly.

Loki opened his eyes. "That is my name."

Tony rolled his eyes. "There's one piece left. But I need to, er, reposition myself."

With a frown, Loki looked down at him. "Then move, if you must."

"Well, the thing is, I kinda-maybe-sorta need to straddle you." Tony blurted out.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Then do so. You've already dragged me to your bedroom, with an arm looped around my waist, and taken my shirt off. What more can people assume?"

The corners of Tony's lips twitched. Attractive, smart and funny? He was definitely going to get to know Loki better after tonight.

He swung his leg over Loki, and shuffled forward on his knees, waiting until he was slightly above Loki's crotch before resting his weight on him.

Focussing on his task, he tried his hardest not to notice the warm and closeness of the boy under him, or how good it felt to be on top of him. Which, it totally didn't.

It was the alcohol talking, remember?

"Aaaand I'm done." Tony announced, not in any hurry to get off Loki.

The way Loki looked now was practically sinful. He was propping himself up on his elbows and staring up at Tony with hooded eyes, his hair falling at his shoulders to shape his face perfectly.

"Thank you." Loki said sincerely, sitting up and snapping Tony out of his reverie.

"Any time. You want some pain relief or something?" Tony asked.

Loki nodded. "Yes, please. The strongest stuff you've got."

Tony rummaged through the first-aid kit until he found a bottle. "Here you go." He said, offering the bottle to Loki.

Without bothering to get water, Loki swallowed them down whole, nodding at Tony in appreciation.

"Be warned, they might make you drowsy." Tony cautioned him, as Loki's eyelids began to droop.

"Yeah… I figured." Loki mumbled, lying back down on the bed and closing his eyes fully.

"You're welcome to stay the night, by the way." Tony added sarcastically, seeing as Loki already looked half-asleep.

"Thanks…" Loki murmured, burying his head in Tony's pillow, still shirtless.

Tony was now in the process of removing his legs from around Loki's waist when Loki started mumbling. At first, Tony ignored him, but then he heard his name.  
"Tony,"

He extricated his legs and moved closer to Loki's head to hear him.

"...Don't leave me," Loki mumbled.

Okay, so now Loki was messing with him, even if it was accidental.

Alcohol and pain relief, not a good combo.


	5. Chapter 5

Loki woke up the following morning with a pounding headache and a throbbing chest. Glancing down to see what was so sore, he suddenly realized several things.

1. This was not his bed.

2. It was Tony Stark's bed.

3. He was shirtless in Tony Stark's bed.

4. And Tony Stark was lying next to him.

As this dawned on him, he sprung out of the bed, kicking off sheets in the process and waking up Tony.

"Woah, what the hell?" Tony exclaimed, sitting up and rubbing his eyes as he took in the half-naked form in front of him.

"Why am I in your bed, Stark?" Loki asked through narrowed eyes, clutching his aching chest.

"You got injured last night and the combination of alcohol and pain relief probably knocked you out, causing you to fall asleep in it." Tony shrugged, stretching in his bed.

"So why did you not get Natasha to take me home instead?"

Tony laughed. "I'm pretty sure she was in no state to be taking you anywhere. Plus you made yourself comfortable, and I didn't want to move you in case I injured you further."

Loki looked down at his chest self-consciously and crossed his arms. "Look, all that I remember of last night was that I got injured and you leant me a hand. So I am sincerely hoping that you're telling me the truth and didn't try to take advantage of me whilst I was in a vulnerable state."

Tony looked offended. "You think that lowly of me?" He asked, mock-outraged.

"No. I merely know of your reputation. That alone gives me reason to be distrustful." Loki corrected.

Tony was still offended, but put on one of his trademark grins anyway. "Clever man."

"Whatever, Stark." Loki said, scoffing and rolling his eyes. "Anyway, as much as I appreciate your hospitality, I should be heading home, in case Thor decides to pay a visit."

"What, does your big bro miss you too much when you're gone?"

"Something like that…" Loki muttered to himself. "It's more to do with the fact that he doesn't know how to function without me. He can't cook, he can't clean, he can't study…" Loki listed, before realizing that he was rambling and trailed off.

"So you guys are close?" Tony inquired.

Loki could've laughed. "First you think Natasha and I are together, now you believe that my brother and I are close? Your deductions are _astounding, _Stark." He shook his head slightly.

"Jeez, I'm just trying to be polite." Tony replied defensively. "Are you going to go now or what?"

Loki was still standing in the doorway. "Yes, but I just realized – I don't have a shirt."

"I know." Tony smirked. "If you wanted to borrow one of mine, you should've just asked." He remarked, throwing the sheets back and getting out of the bed.

Loki stared at his bare torso. "You're not wearing a shirt either."

"Yeah, I know." Tony said, beginning to root through his wardrobe for a shirt that would fit Loki. "Does that bother you?"

"It just gives me more reason to doubt your explanation of last night." Loki frowned.

Tony sighed. "You got injured, I helped you. That is all." He said, tossing a shirt to Loki. "Now put that on and quit arguing."

Loki scowled but pulled the shirt on over his head anyway. He looked down at it and his scowl deepened. "This is your Black Sabbath shirt. You always wear it."

"It's one of several. But take good care of it anyway." He shrugged.

"Why are you giving it to _me_? Shouldn't you have given it to a girlfriend or something?"

"If I had one, I would." Tony explained. "However, relationships aren't my thing, so it's unlikely that I'll ever find someone to give it to."

"I'm touched." Loki said dryly, as he picked up his leather jacket from the floor. "And as lovely as this conversation has been, I feel I must take my leave now." He added, finally turning to the door.

"You know how to get out?" Tony asked. "It's a pretty big house."

Tony saw Loki's shoulders lift up in a shrug. "I'll figure it out." He said, and walked out the door.

"What, not even a thank you?" Tony complained after him.

Loki strode back in with a sigh. "Seeing as you don't seem the type to ditch the party in favour of helping someone that can barely be considered a friend, I will thank you. But just this once. Let's not make a habit of this." He said, before turning back around and leaving the room before Tony could say anything else.

"Thor?" Loki called out, once he'd stepped inside the house. It was 11:30, so unless Thor had gone out, he would probably be awake playing video games.

Sure enough, when Loki stepped into Thor's bedroom, that was what he was doing. But he wasn't alone. Sitting cross-legged on the bed wearing a small pajama shirt and short pajama shorts, was Sif, and to her left was Fandral, in pajama pants, but with no shirt.

"I didn't realize we were having visitors so early." Loki said, walking into the bedroom.

Thor paused the game. "Loki! How was the party? Anthony invited us, and we were planning on coming, but we lost track of time."

"It was fine." Loki answered disinterestedly.

Despite being used to Loki's short answers, Thor still looked disappointed. "Did you meet any new people? And where were you the entire night? Did you stay with a woman? Who is she?" Thor asked eagerly.

"Thor, stop with the interrogation and perhaps I'll consider answering you." Loki scowled.

Thor looked sheepish, having forgotten Loki's hatred for unnecessary questions. "Sorry." He apologized.

Loki nodded slightly at the apology. "And you're wrong, by the way. I stayed at Stark's overnight, not with a woman."

"Figures." Fandral snorted.

Loki whirled around to face him, an eyebrow raised. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

"You're not exactly known for your reputation with women, are you?" Fandral pointed out.

"Says the man sitting shirtless in my brother's room." Loki retorted.

Fandral flushed and glared at him. "That's rich, coming from the person who's wearing Tony Stark's shirt, after most likely spending the night in _his _bed."

"Fandral, Loki. Cut it out." Thor interrupted, before Loki could say anything else.

Narrowing his eyes at Fandral, and whispering something in Norwegian under his breath, Loki stormed out of the room. It wasn't as if he was going to be missed, anyway.

"What did he just call me?" Fandral asked Thor, having heard Loki's whisper.

"_Rasshøl._" Thor replied. "It means assholein Norwegian."

"But is it true, Thor?" Sif asked.

Thor laughed. "That Fandral is an asshole? Yes, I think so."

Sif ignored Fandral's growl. "No, about Loki being, you know, _gay._"

Thor frowned. "I do not know."

"Would it bother you if he was?"

"It would bother _me_." Fandral cut in.

"You slept with Tony Stark, Fandral." Sif pointed out.

"Everyone's slept with him." He replied defensively. "And I was drunk. We both were."

"_I _haven't slept with him." Sif declared proudly.

Fandral snorted. "Yes, but you haven't slept with _anyone_."

"Because I am a self-respecting young woman who doesn't need a man." She smirked. "At least, I haven't found one yet."

"How insightful." Fandral responded sarcastically.

"Anyone up for another game of Mario Kart?" Thor asked.

Grinning at each other like idiots, Sif and Fandral reached for the controllers, already arguing about who should be what character.

Thor, on the other hand, was frowning. It was a widespread rumour that Loki was gay, and although he knew that Loki didn't care about what people thought of him, he couldn't help but wonder if the rumours were true…


	6. Chapter 6

"Thor!" Loki yelled upstairs for the umpteenth time. Even after four months of driving Loki to school in the morning, Thor was always late. Well, at least he was to Loki. "Get your arse down here _now_!"

With a dark mutter about Loki being a drama queen, Thor stumbled down the stairs, his bag flung over his shoulder in a casual manner that just oozed coolness. "I don't understand what the rush is, brother. School doesn't start for forty-five minutes, and it's only a ten minute drive." Thor complained, snatching his keys off the table.

"As unlikely as you and your charming group of friends might find it, I actually have friends that I am meeting up with. So if you don't mind, I would like to leave now." Loki explained, narrowing his eyes as he swung the front door open and gestured for Thor to walk outside.

"Friends such as Anthony Stark?" Thor questioned, unlocking the car with a click of a button.

Loki raised his eyebrows at the question. "I would hardly consider him a friend, Thor. We've had a grand total of seven interactions with each other, none of which were particularly long. I don't see why you insist on asking me about him." He replied as he slid into the passenger seat and pulling out his iPod and headphones, trying to let Thor know that he wanted to be left alone.

"It's just that there have been rumours about you two going around, brother." Thor refused to meet Loki's eyes as he said this.

"I care not about gossip, Thor. I think we both know that I've been at the center of enough speculation to not be bothered of what others think of me." Loki responded, shooting Thor a look as he put his headphones in and turned up the volume.

Thor let out a sigh and shook his head. Ever since Loki had gone to the Globe, he'd been acting strangely, even more so since they'd come to a new school. "Loki, I'm trying to talk to you!" Thor raised his voice over Loki's music and poked him in the shoulder for good measure.

Loki reluctantly pulled out one bud. "No, Thor. You're attempting to make me worried about what others think. But if you're so determined to talk to me then pray, do tell, what is it that everyone is saying?"

Thor glanced over at him briefly, before speaking, somewhat reluctantly, again. "Many people seem to believe that you and Anthony are an item."

Loki yanked out his other headphone and stared at Thor with a peculiar expression on his face. "They _what_?" He cried out. "How could they possibly come to that conclusion?"

Thor shrunk back into his seat, which was a considerable feat, seeing as he was far to large for the car. "From what I have heard, you were apparently seen with his arm around you as he took you to his bedroom on Friday night. And then you didn't arrive home until the following morning!"

"If you had bothered to get _my _side of the story, you would know that was because I was injured and he offered to help me. Do you honestly believe that I would sleep with someone like him after talking to him so few times?" Loki asked, looking at Thor incredulously.

"Well, it's not as if I know anything about you these days! You barely talk to me anymore!" Thor argued, somehow managing to keep himself focused on driving at the same time.

"You accuse me of sleeping with someone that I_ barely know_, your friends are nothing but rude to me, and our father cares about nothing but your achievements, and yet you wonder why I don't talk to you?" Loki asked skeptically, raising his voice. How dare Thor talk to him about being reclusive! "How much thicker can you get?" Loki just shook his head and put his headphones back in, before turning to stare out the window.

Thor was confused. He didn't understand why Loki kept on pushing him away, he hadn't done anything wrong! Okay, so maybe it a bit out of line when he told Loki that he thought him and Tony were together, but Loki had completely over-reacted! He wouldn't have come to that conclusion if Loki had put in the effort to talk to him about what happened at the party, and how was he supposed to know that Loki had been injured? He could've been admitted to hospital, and Thor would still have been the last person to know.

By the time they arrived at school, Loki's mood was as dark as the clothes he was wearing, and he didn't say a word to Thor as he exited the car and stormed through the school gates.

It was now lunchtime, and Loki had been finding people looking at him with a newfound curiosity since first period. He'd also been attempting to ward off the bombardment of questions from his friend, Darcy, who was the only person in his circle of friends that was actually interested in the school gossip. It probably didn't help that he'd wordlessly handed Tony back his shirt during A.P Chemistry, when all eyes in the classroom were on him. He hadn't realized until now just how quickly rumours spread, and the only way for him to get rid of them was to actually deny them.

It wasn't long until he was given the opportunity to: Darcy had found him again at lunchtime, and after a brief, polite, conversation, Loki made sure she soon knew that no, he was not dating Tony, and no, he did not wish to. She was skeptical though, because come on, this was Tony Stark they were talking about, who didn't want to be with him? He only slept with the best, and only the best were talked about in reference to his reputation. This also resulted in a newfound interest of him sexually from the majority of females (and several males), because if Tony Stark liked you, and made sure everyone knew it, you clearly had some experience in the downstairs departments.

There was also something about the old-fashioned tall, dark and brooding type that people still found attractive, something that Loki found useful back in England for picking up girls.

However, Loki eventually got sick of all the looks he was getting and left to find Natasha, the only person that would actually believe him when he said he didn't have sex with Tony.

And after searching twelve classrooms, he finally found her.

Making out with Clint.

He wasn't sure what to think. Yes, it was great that Natasha had finally given into Clint's pleading, but it was still two of his best friends _making out._

He was saved when the bell signaling the end of lunch rang, and Clint and Natasha pulled away from each other, giving each other loving looks before finally noticing him.

"Oh, hey." Natasha greeted, doing up the two top buttons of her shirt.

"_Hey? _I walk in on you two eating each other's faces, and all you say is _hey_?"

Clint let out a small laugh. "Well I think what's going on is pretty self-explanatory. I don't know what you're expecting us to say."

"Neither do I, but I think I deserve an apology for having to witness that."

"Oh please, I know that's not the first time you seen someone kiss, and I know for a fact that you're well-inversed in the art of kissing yourself." Natasha snorted, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at him.

"Yes, but not once have any of those times included two of my closest friends." Loki shuddered. "But, hey, I'm happy for you two. I assume it became official on Friday night, some time after I lost you in the crowd, Natasha?"

To her credit, she looked fairly guilty. "It might've been."

"Whatever. Well, at least now you're no longer the only single woman in our group." Loki reminded her, before something dawned on him. "Oh gods, that leaves me as the only single one, doesn't it?"

Natasha shared a knowing look with Clint and they both snickered. "Not from what I've heard. A little birdy told me that you were getting it on with one Tony Stark while Clint and I were off doing our own thing."

Loki let out a dramatic moan and banged his head on the wall to punctuate his sentence. "We. Are. Not. Together. Nor have we slept together, despite what the entire school thinks."

"Come on, Lo', we're your closest friends, you can tell us." Natasha coaxed, smirking at Clint.

Loki just glared at them both, before giving them both the finger and angrily striding out.

His mood spiraled even further downwards when he saw Odin's car in the driveway, meaning that his father was home from his business trip. Sighing to himself and putting a mostly neutral expression on his face, Loki entered the house, wincing a little when the door slammed shut with more force than he had intended behind him. It wasn't a total accident – door slamming was strangely therapeutic when angry – and it wasn't his best idea by far. The noise would mean he would become a victim to Odin's rage far sooner than he wanted.

He had been inside for a grand total of seven seconds, when Odin's head peered out from the kitchen to scowl at him. Odin was originally planning on scolding him for slamming the door shut but upon seeing him, his reasoning changed.

"What _is _that on your head?" Odin asked, his eyes going wide.

Loki patted his scalp and didn't find anything disconcerting. "My hair?" He replied sarcastically.

"Yes, but why have you allowed it to get so long?"

Loki closed his eyes and willed himself to reply sensibly. "It is the same length as it was when you left several days ago, father."

"It was much tidier when we left. You are supposed to look like the member of a wealthy family, not like one that sends their children to school looking like hippies!" Odin growled at him.

"What's wrong with hippies?" Loki asked. One of his friend's parents had been hippies, and they'd always been lovely to him, if not a tad eccentric.

Odin's eyes narrowed. "It would make sense why you favour them so much, you're practically one yourself! What with your long hair, your interest in the arts, nature and ridiculous music, I can barely see the difference!"

"Just because I'm different to Thor does not mean that I am a completely different species." Loki muttered, but he knew Odin could hear him.

"And why can't you be more like Thor? It would make life so much easier for your mother and I. He had friends over now, you know, and where are yours?" Odin asked nastily, starting to smirk.

"Most likely studying or at sports practice." Loki replied smoothly. "You know, things that most teenagers do."

"And why don't you join them?"

Loki snorted. "You perfectly well why. After dedicating so much of myself to an activity, only for the proof of my talent to be snatched away from me, I'm not too keen for a repeat performance." He explained, shooting Odin a look that said _I want to be left alone now, so stop talking shit about me and get back to whatever "important" business you have._

Odin sighed and shook his head at his youngest son, but allowed him to continue up to his room all the same. Arguing with Loki was exhausting, and most of the time unnecessary, but there was something about his personality than conflicted so much with Odin's, and it made the two of them fight far more than what the rest of the house could stand, including themselves.

**Thank you for the comments! I find them VERY helpful, so keep them coming! Any suggestions are VERY welcome!**


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